I happen to be the developer behind one of the other featured apps on that first Mac App Store screenshot in the original unity3d.com thread, and I doubt that Martin's story represents a typical Mac developer's mindset and/or expectations. And neither does most of what John Casasanta ever says or does.
As a developer who started out on the Mac, I think there are at least three things you can learn from this:
1) It's true that the Mac App Store isn't a "get rich quick" scheme, but you can make a decent living through MAS sales alone. Add your non-MAS sales to that, and you're in a better position than most people in most countries.
2) Porting Unity games might not be the best way to be successful on the Mac. This is hardly surprising, IMHO, as people buy Macs for reasons that are very different from why they buy iOS devices, and the target audience itself might be a different one as well.
3) You simply cannot expect to launch a product that's entirely new to the market and be successful right away, then move on to your next project. The Mac software market is about maintaining and improving apps over the years, and success builds up comparatively slowly while you grow a user base that spans all your products. We're farmers.
This isn't the first time I wonder why Eric Slivka mistakes the Mac App Store for a gaming platform, by the way. I've been amazed by that angle ever since this story.
As a developer who started out on the Mac, I think there are at least three things you can learn from this:
1) It's true that the Mac App Store isn't a "get rich quick" scheme, but you can make a decent living through MAS sales alone. Add your non-MAS sales to that, and you're in a better position than most people in most countries.
2) Porting Unity games might not be the best way to be successful on the Mac. This is hardly surprising, IMHO, as people buy Macs for reasons that are very different from why they buy iOS devices, and the target audience itself might be a different one as well.
3) You simply cannot expect to launch a product that's entirely new to the market and be successful right away, then move on to your next project. The Mac software market is about maintaining and improving apps over the years, and success builds up comparatively slowly while you grow a user base that spans all your products. We're farmers.
This isn't the first time I wonder why Eric Slivka mistakes the Mac App Store for a gaming platform, by the way. I've been amazed by that angle ever since this story.